Parents' rights fails in Colorado

EXAMINER NEWS SERVICES

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, November 6, 1996

1996-11-06 04:00:00 PDT COLORADO; MAINE; ARIZONA -- One of the nation's most controversial ballot measures - a proposal to enshrine the "inalienable right" of parents into the Colorado Constitution - died at the polls after a heated debate about whether it would have helped or hurt children.

In Maine, voters rejected an all-out ban on clear-cutting 10 million acres of northern woods, and Arizona voters - like those in California - approved a ballot measure to allow the medical use of marijuana.

Those were among a record 90 citizen-backed initiatives decided Tuesday - the most since 1914. State legislatures placed another 153 measures on state ballots, giving voters in 41 states a chance to consider a host of divisive and emotional issues.

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Colorado's proposed constitutional amendment - defeated 58 to 42 percent - would have protected the right of parents to "direct and control the upbringing, education, values and discipline of their children."

Supporters argued it would stem growing governmental intrusion into family life, especially education. Opponents, including teachers, social workers and the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed it would make it harder to prosecute child abuse cases and lead to legal fights over what is taught in schools.

Supporter Mike Norton, former U.S. attorney for Colorado, blamed the defeat on what he said were groundless assertions the amendment would cause child abuse to increase.

Colorado was a test state for the amendment, backed primarily by Of The People, an Arlington, Va., organization. Opponents feared it could catch on nationally if passed.

The clear-cutting proposal in Maine turned into the most expensive referendum in the history of the state - dependent for decades on logging and still heavily carpeted in timber. Voters leaned instead toward an industry-backed measure with more moderate logging restrictions, but the compromise failed to win the necessary 50 percent support and must be voted on again.

Gambling, once seen by many states as the answer to economic woes, was dealt a losing hand at the polls. In Ohio, voters rejected a measure to allow riverboat casinos along the Ohio River and Lake Erie shoreline.

Louisiana voters, given a chance to reject gambling in different parishes, split their decisions: six parishes with riverboat gambling kept it and 23 others decided to try it, while 30 parishes held on to video poker and 34 rejected it.

Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota voted to allow the labeling of term-limit opponents on the ballot. Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming and Washington state gave a thumbs-down on the issue. The maneuver is an attempt to resurrect term limits after the U.S. Supreme Court last year prohibited states from limiting congressional terms without a constitutional amendment.

Massachusetts approved a measure to place new restrictions on hunting by banning padded leg-hold traps. Traps without pads were already banned. A measure to prohibit bear hunting using bait or dogs was approved in Washington, but three other states - Michigan, Colorado and Idaho - were rejecting new hunting restrictions.&lt;